IIFET 2004 Japan Proceedings
Responsible Fishing Meeting: Huge Turnout in Japan
By Seamus McElroy
Article published in September 2004 Fishing News International. Reprinted (in a slightly
revised version) by permission.
The Japanese International Fisheries Research Society (JIFRS) has held the 12th Biennial
Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET),
writes Seamus McElroy.
The event, held between July 26 and 29 July in Tokyo, had the theme: "What are
responsible fisheries?" The conference drew over 480 delegates, with over 350 from
outside Japan, and over 100 from developing countries. Members of government,
industry, academics and NGOs came together to discuss trends and developments in
world fisheries, with an emphasis on Asia.
Several linked events took place during this conference, which IIFET held in Asia for the
first time. The conference was preceded by a four-day field trip to the two Japanese
prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi to see the unique way Japan controls its domestic
fisheries through its Fisheries Co-operative Associations (FCAs). They have practiced a
form of community based fisheries management (CBFM), where fishing rights are
allocated among its members and its members self-regulate the amount of fish they take
each year (their individual species quotas). The FCAs also act as European-style producer
organisations for their members, buying inputs such as fuel, ice and gear in bulk at
reduced prices.
This was followed by a one-day workshop on case studies in fisheries management
education which was delivered in a business school type case study approach,
incorporating fisheries and economic data, employing simple models and other analytical
techniques, to address some of the conservation, economic and business issues faced by
fishing companies, vessels owners and fisheries managers. Some of these case studies
had been prepared by FAO/SIFAR to inform fisheries managers on practical approaches
to more effective fisheries management. Visits were also arranged to the Tsukiji market the fish market at the centre of the world of fisheries (see box).
The conference proper was held on the new campus of the Tokyo University of Marine
Science and Technology (TUMSAT), which was formed from the merger of Tokyo
University of Fisheries at Shinagawa and Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine at
Etchu-jima in October 2003. This was the first time in the 115-year history of the worldrenowned Tokyo Fisheries University that an international conference on fisheries was
held at its campus!
This event signifies the tremendous change that has gone on in Japanese fisheries over
the past 30 years, since UNCLOS III in the mid-1970s, with Japan by necessity being
more open to events taking place in the rest of the fisheries world. Imported fish account
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IIFET 2004 Japan Proceedings
for 50% of what the Japanese consumer eats. So, a key role of the Japanese fishing
industry is to set the agenda for responsible fisheries management in its areas of influence
around the world.
Most
conference
papers
fell
into
three
broad
areas:
1. Inshore fisheries management concentrating on community-based fisheries
management and the role of co-operatives;
2. Industrial and offshore commercial fisheries and their management; and
3. Aquaculture.
In addition, there were sessions on capacity reduction by 'buy-back'; EU fisheries
management; Asian fisheries and aquaculture; and international trade in fisheries
products.
*The next conference will be held in July 2006 at the Centre for Marine Resource
Economics, University of Portsmouth, UK, with Sean Pascoe (sean.pascoe@port.ac.uk) a
member of the organising committee.
Wide-Ranging Papers
Outstanding conference papers were presented by such specialists as Parzival Copes, now
over 80, from Simon Fraser University, Canada; Gordon Munro and R Sumaila from the
Fisheries Centre, UBC; Lee Anderson, Univ. of Delaware, USA; Rognavaldur
Hannesson, Norway; Richard Johnston, Oregon State; Jon Sutinen and Cathy Roheim of
University of Rhode Island. attending the conference. Stars of the conference were the
Japanese contingent of fisheries administrators, academics and practitioners, including
Tadashi Yamamoto, Honorary President of and Yoshiaki Matsuda, President of JIFRS.
They made particular efforts to ensure a high proportion of delegates attended from
developing countries in the region, as did a further 21 individual Japanese University
lecturers and fisheries staff who made substantial personal donations to assist numerous
overseas students to attend.
*Conference Proceedings are expected to be out by Christmas 2004, according to the
IIFET
Executive
Director
and
proceedings
compiler
Ann
Shriver.
(ann.l.shriver@oregonstate.edu).
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